JK 868 

1913 
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MEMORANDUM HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 



Soon after the close of the Mexican War, and as an outcome of the 
accession of territory resulting from that war, as well as of the great 
increase in population, wealth, and business throughout the country, 
a movement was started having in view the establishment of a new 
executive department, to be known as the Home Department, which 
should take over the various bureaus and offices transacting public 
business relating to domestic affairs, such as patents, pensions, Indian 
affairs, and the census. At that time, the work pertaining to these 
offices was distributed among various departments : The Patent Office 
was under the supervision of the Secretary of State ; the Land Office 
and the census were under the Secretary of the Treasury ; Indian 
affairs were controlled by the Secretary of War ; and pensions were 
granted under the supervision of the Secretaries of War and the 
Navy, respectively. 

In his annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1848, Hon. 
E. J. Walker, the Secretary of the Treasury, invited attention to the 
enormous amount of work devolved upon the head of that depart- 
ment, and the diverse nature of the duties performed by him, some of 
which had no connection with commerce or the public finances. He 
also pointed out that the State Department had no proper connection 
with the work of the Patent Office, and that Indian affairs and appli- 
cations for pensions could be better handled elsewhere than in the 
War and Navy Departments. He accordingly recommended that a 
new department be established, and that all the offices above named 
be placed under such new department. 

The matter was subsequently taken up by Congress, and on Febru- 
ary 12, 1849, the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Repre- 
sentatives submitted a report indorsing the views of the Secretary of 
the Treasury, together with a bill for the creation of a new depart- 
ment, to be known as the Home Department, or Department of the 
Interior. 

The committee stated that the immediate considerations which 
urged the establishment of the new department were the mischiefs, 
losses, and dangers resulting from the existing irrational and ruinous 
distributions of executive powers and duties. They added, however, 
that there were broader considerations of public policy dictating the 
creation of such a department. Since the establishment of the Fed- 
eral Government 60 years before, they said, some $700,000,000 had 
been expended for purposes of military aggression or defense, and 
the averagie expenditure for the War and Navy Departments was 
then twelve or fourteen millions of dollars. The whole amount 
of expenditure during the same period for the promotion of the arts 
of peace, the development of agriculture and of the mechanical 
sciences, and for the facilitation of internal intercourse and trade, 

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the support of education, and the diffusion of knowledge did not 
exceed $1,000,000. The report continued: 

The general fact remains unaffected that war and preparations for war have 
been practically regarded as the chief duty and end of this Government, while 
the arts of peace and production, whereby nations are subsisted, civilization 
advanced, and happiness secured have been esteemed unworthy the attention, 
or foreign to the objects, of this Government. It seems to us that this should 
not always continue, but that we should, as a wise people, reorganize the Gov- 
ernment so far as to fulfill these duties also, which are suggested by the nature, 
aspirations, and wants of our race as physical, moral, and intellectual beings ; 
that it should do something toward protecting the people against those internal 
enemies — ignorance, destitution, and vice, as well as against those foreign foes 
who may invade or who it is apprehended may assail us. 

In pursuance of the foregoing recommendation Congress passed 
the act approved March 3, 1849 (9 Stat., 395), entitled "An act to 
establish the Home Department," etc. Section 1 of this act reads as 
follows : 

That from and after the passage of this act there shall be created a new 
executive department of the Government of the United States, to be called the 
Department of the Interior, the head of which department shall be called the 
Secretary of the Interior, who shall be appointed by the President of the United 
States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall hold 
this ofBce by the same tenure and receive the same salary as the secretaries of 
the other executive departments, and who shall perform all the duties assigned 
to him by this act. 

This act conferred powers of supervision and appeal upon the new 
Secretary over the acts of the following officers: 

The Commissioner of the General Land Office; 

The Commissioner of Patents ; 

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs; 

The Commissioner of Pensions. 

The act also conferred supervision and control over officers of the 
census; also over the accounts of marshals, clerks, and other officers 
of the United States courts; also jurisdiction over the commissioner 
of public buildings in Washington; over the lead and other mines 
of the United States; and over the warden and inspectors of the 
District of Columbia penitentiary. 

Only one clerk was provided for, a chief clerk at $2,000. The 
transfer from the Treasury Department of such clerks as performed 
the duties over which supervision was by the act given to the new 
secretary was authorized. Owing to the fact, however, that there 
were no clerks in the Treasury Department who had been engaged 
exclusively upon the business transferred to the Interior Department, 
it was impracticable to make the transfers directed by the act and 
hence it became necessary to detail clerks from the several bureaus 
for duty in the Secretary's office ; and the Secretary also employed six 
clerks upon his own responsibility, such employment, however, to be 
subject to the approval of Congress. 

"As showing that the policy of the new department was in harmony 
with the purpose of Congress in creating it, it may be stated that 
in the very first annual report of the Secretary of the Interior, 
Hon. Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, submitted to the President, Decem- 
ber 3, 1849, a recommendation for the organization of a separate 
Bureau of Agriculture, which should carry out on an enlarged and 
systematic scale the work hitherto performed by an agricultural 

D. QF:D. 

0' 1913 




division in the Patent Office. The Secretary also urged in this report 
the construction of a highway or a railroad to the Pacific Ocean. 

By the act of March 3, 1855 (10 Stat., 682), the Government Hos- 
pital for the Insane in Washington was organized for the treatment 
of the insane of the Army, the Navy, and the District of Columbia. 
A superintendent was provided for, to be appointed by the Secre- 
tary of the Interior; and the Secretary was also given supervision 
of certain admissions to the hospital, as well as of the requisitions for 
funds therefor. 

By the act of February 16, 1857 (11 Stat., 161), the Columbia In- 
stitution for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind was incorporated, and the 
Secretary of the Interior was authorized to pay the expenses of 
pupils from the District of Columbia. By the act of February 23, 
1865 (13 Stat., 436), it was provided that the teaching of the blind 
should no longer be required at this institution, and the Secretary of 
the Interior was authorized to contract with sonie institution, in 
Maryland or elsewhere, for the instruction of blind children en- 
titled thereto under the law. The name of this institution was 
changed to Columbia Institutition for the Deaf by the sundry civil 
act, approved March 4, 1911. 

By the act of February 17, 1857 (11 Stat., 162), the Secretary of 
the Interior was authorized to contract for the construction of a 
wagon road from Fort Kearney, Nebr., to the eastern boundary of 
the State of California, as well as several other roads in the western 
States and Territories. 

Bv the act of March 2, 1807 (2 Stat., 426), the importation of 
African slaves after January 1, 1808, was prohibited, the Constitu- 
tion having provided that no such prohibition should be enforced 
prior to 1808. By the act of March 3, 1819 (3 Stat., 532), full pro- 
vision was made for the punishment of persons engaging in the slave 
trade ; for the use of armed vessels in the prevention of such traffic ; 
and the President was authorized to make arrangements for the re- 
turn to Africa of slaves illegally imported. By executive order of 
May 2, 1861, the President devolved upon the Secretary of the In- 
terior the execution of the act of March 3, 1819, and other laws 
adopted for the suppression of the African slave trade. For several 
years there was considerable activity in apprehending and punish- 
ing violators of the law prohibiting the importation of slaves, but 
partly as a result of the Civil War, and partly as a result of the 
vigilance of the officers of the Government, the Secretary of the In- 
terior was able to state in his annual report submitted to the Presi- 
dent December 5, 1864, that in no part of the United States had a 
vessel been fitted out to engage in such traffic. 

Connected with the slave trade and the suppression thereof were 
the laws authorizing the colonization in Liberia, or elsewhere, of 
persons of the African race. The act of July 17, 1862, authorized 
the President to make provision for the transportation, colonization, 
and settlement in some tropical country of persons of the African 
race set free by the provisions of the act; and the act of April 16, 
1862 (12 Stat., 378), authorized the colonization of free persons of 
African descent resident in the District of Columbia. These duties, 
also, were devolved upon the Secretary of the Interior by the 
President. 



By the act of April 16, 1862 (12 Stat., 617), the supervision of the 
Capitol extension and the erection of the new dome was transferred 
from the War Department to the Department of the Interior. By 
the act of March 30, 1867 (15 Stat., 13), it was provided that all 
improvements, alterations, and repairs of the Capitol should be made 
under direction of the architect of the Capitol, and should be paid 
for by the Secretary of the Interior. The act of August 15, 1876 (19 
Stat., 147), conferred upon the architect "care and supervision" of 
the Capitol building, and provided that estimates therefor should be 
submitted through the Secretary of the Interior ; also that the archi- 
tect should perform all duties pertaining to the Capitol formerly 
performed by the commissioner of public buildings. The act of 
February 14, 1902 (32 Stat., 20), changed the title of the architect to 
Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds. 

In 1839, and subsequent years until 1862, there was an Agricul- 
tural Division in the Patent Office, and various appropriations from 
the Patent Office fund were made for the collection of agricultural 
statistics, the purchase of seeds, etc. By the act of May 16, 1862 
(12 Stat., 387), however, the Department of Agriculture was es- 
tablished as an independent bureau or office, and the property of the 
Agricultural Division of the Patent Office was transferred to such 

The act of June 2, 1862 (12 Stat., 412), required the Secretary of 
the Interior to establish in his department a Returns Office, in which 
should be filed all contracts executed on behalf of the War, Navy, 
and Interior Departments, together with the advertisements, pro- 
posal, etc., relating to the same ; and it was provided that any person 
interested could procure certified copies of such contracts upon pay- 
meiit of a reasonable fee. This act was designed to prevent fraud 
in the letting of public contracts, as well as to furnish evidence by 
which officers guilty of such frauds could be convicted. The officer 
signing the contract must make an oath that he made the contract 
fairly, without benefit or advantage to himself, or allowing such 
benefit or advantage corruptly to the contractor; also that all papers 
pertaining to the contract are attached thereto. 

By the original act incorporating the Union Pacific Railroad Co., 
approved July 1, 1862 (12 Stat., 489), the Secretary of the Interior 
was authorized to nominate five of the incorporators, and the com- 
pany was required to file its acceptance of the conditions of the act 
m the Interior Department. Various other duties with respect to 
the Pacific railroads were imposed upon the Secretary from time to 
time, and he was, generally speaking, made the medium of carrying 
out the policy of the President with regard to such roads, with the 
exception, of course, of duties pertaining to the indebtedness of the 
roads to the United States, which were performed by the Secretary 
of the Treasury. 

By the act of March 2, 1867 (14 Stat., 434), a Department of 
Education was established for the purpose of collecting and diflPus- 
ing such information relative to schools as would aid the people of 
the United States in the establishment and maintenance of efficient 
school systems, and otherwise promote the cause of education 
throughout the country. A Commissioner of Education was au- 
thorized. By the act of July 20, 1868 (15 Stat., 106), the name of 
the Department of Education was changed to the Office of Educa- 



tion, and the same was placed under the direction of the Secretary 
of the Interior. 

The first national park to be established was the Yellowstone 
National Park, in Montana and Wyoming, which was created by the 
act of March 1, 1872 (17 Stat., 32), and placed under the exclusive 
control of the Secretary of the Interior. The Yosemite National 
Park, in California, was set aside and placed under the control of the 
Secretary of the Interior by act of October 1, 1890. By joint resolu- 
tion of June 11, 1906, the Yosemite Valley grant, situated within 
the national park, and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove, adjoining the 
park, which had been previously ceded to the State of California, 
and had been retroceded to the United States by act of the State 
legislature, were attached to the Yosemite National Park and made 
part thereof. 

Ten other national parks, situated in the Western States, have also 
been placed under the control of the department, as follows : 

Sequoia and General Grant National Parks, in California, were 
established and placed under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the 
Interior by act of September 25, 1890 (26 Stat., 478) ; Mount Kainier 
National Park, in Washington, was established by act of March 2, 
1899 (30 Stat., 993) ; Crater Lake National Park, in Oregon, was 
established by act of May 22, 1902 (32 Stat., 202); Wind Cave 
National Park, in South Dakota, by the act of January 9, 1903 (32 
Stat., 765) ; Sullys Hill Park, in North Dakota, by the act of April 
27, 1904 (33 Stat., 319) ; Mesa Verde National Park, in Colorado, by 
the act o£ June 22, 1906 (34 Stat., 616) ; Piatt National Park, in 
Oklahoma, by the aat of April 21, 1904 (33 Stat., 220), and by joint 
resolution of June 29, 1906, by change from the prior designation 
" Sulphur Springs Reservation " ; and, finally, the Glacier National 
Park, in Montana, by the act of May 11, 1910 (36 Stat., 354). The 
Casa Grande Euin, in Arizona, was set aside by Executive order of 
June 22, 1892, under the act approved March 2, 1889 (25 Stat., 961). 

By the act of March 3, 1877 (19 Stat, 377), the Hot Springs Reser- 
vation, in Arkansas, which had been previously reserved for public 
use, was placed under control of a superintendent to be appointed by 
the Secretary of the Interior. By the act of December 16, 1878 (20 
Stat., 258), the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to lease 
bathhouse sites, together with the privilege of receiving hot water 
from the springs, under regulations to be prescribed by him, and by 
the act of June 16, 1880 (21 Stat., 288), the lands were dedicated to 
public use as parks, etc. 

Under the act of March 1, 1873 (17 Stat., 484), it was provided 
that the Secretary of the Interior should thereafter exercise all the 
powers and perform all the duties relating to Territories that were, 
prior to March 1, 1873, by law or by custom exercised or performed 
by the Secretary of State. Under this enactment all the organized 
Territories created or existing since 1873 have been under the general 
supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, and that officer has also 
had supervision of affairs pertaining to Alaska. 

The act of March 3, 1871 (16 Stat., 506), making appropriation for 
the Freedmen's Hospital and Asylum in Washington, placed said 
hospital under control of the Secretary of War. The act of June 23, 
1874 (18 Stat., 223), however, transferred control of the institution 
to the Secretary of the Interior. The control of the expenditures of 



appropriations was transferred to the Commissioners of the District 
of Columbia by act of March 3, 1893 (27 Stat., 551) ; but by the act 
of March 3, 1905, such control was again vested in the Secretary of 
the Interior. 

The office of the auditor of railroad accounts was created by act 
of June 19, 1878 (20 Stat., 169), which provided that the duties of 
the auditor, under direction of the Secretary of the Interior, should 
be to devise a system of reports for Government-aided railroads west 
of the Missouri Eiver ; to see that the laws relating to said companies 
were enforced; to examine the companies' accounts for Government 
transportation, etc. By the act of March 3, 1881, the title of the 
auditor was changed to commissioner of railroads. 

Many geographical surveys were made under the War Department 
from the year 1834, and even prior thereto. By the act of March 3, 
1879 (20 Stat., 394), the appointment of a Director of the Geological 
Survey was authorized; and it was provided that said officer, under 
the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, should have the 
direction of the Geological Survey and the classification of public 
lands; also the examination of the geological structure, mineral re- 
sources, and products of the national domain. 

A Bureau of Labor was established in the Department of the In- 
terior by the act of June 27, 1884 (23 Stat., 60), and the Commis- 
sioner of Labor was required to collect information upon the subject 
of labor, its relation to capital, the hours of labor and the earnings of 
laboring men and women, and their material, social, intellectual, and 
moral prosperity. 

The act of February 4, 1887 (24 Stat., 383), entitled "An act to 
regulate commerce," by which the granting of rebates or undue pref- 
erences as to facilities was prohibited, and various other restrictions 
were imposed upon common carriers by railroad, an Interstate Com- 
merce Commission was created, to be appointed by the President. 
This act required the commission to submit an annual report to the 
Secretary of the Interior, and authorized said Secretary to provide 
quarters for the commission and pass upon the accounts thereof. The 
Secretary was also required to approve the appointment of employees 
of the commission. In his annual report for the fiscal year ended 
June 30, 1887, however, the Secretary of the Interior recommended 
that the supervisory powers conferred upon him with respect to the 
Interstate Commerce Commission be revoked; and by the act of 
March 2, 1889 (25 Stat., 861), the interstate commerce act was 
amended so as to require the commission to submit its report to Con- 
gress direct, and to withdraw from the Secretary the power to 
approve appointments, provide quarters, and pass upon accounts of 
the commission. 

By the act of August 30, 1890 (26 Stat., 417), a permanent annual 
appropriation was made to each State and Territory maintaining an 
agricultural and mechanical college under an act passed in 1862. 
This appropriation amounted for the first year to $15,000 for each 
State and Territory ; but a gradual increase in the amount was pro- 
vided for until 1900, after which the act provided for a permanent 
annual appropriation of $25,000. Jurisdiction to determine the right 
of a State to a share of the appropriation was vested in the Secretary 
of the Interior, and under the general discretion vested in him by law 
that officer delegated to the Commissioner of Education the direct 



1 



administration of the fund in question, subject to the supervision and 
control of the department. 

The act of March 3, 1891, authorized the President to set apart and 
reserve any part of the pubHc lands wholly or in part covered with 
timber or undergrowth as public reservations and by proclamation 
to declare the establishment of reservations and the limits thereof. 
By the act of June 4, 189T (30 Stat., 34) , the Secretary of the Interior 
was given jurisdiction of surveys of such reservations and was author- 
ized to make regulations for their protection, the sale of timber there- 
from, etc. He was also authorized to recommend to the President 
the restoration to the public domain of lands found valuable for min- 
erals ; and by subsequent legislation the Secretary of the Interior was 
authorized to appoint forestry superintendents, agents, and super- 
visors, and to lease portions of forest reservations. The administra- 
tion of forest reservations was placed by the Secretary under the 
immediate direction of the Commissioner of the General Land Office. 

By the act of March 3, 1893 (27 Stat^ 645), there was created a 
commission, known as the Dawes Commission, vested with authority 
to negotiate agreements with the Five Civilized Tribes of Indian 
Territory looking to the disintegration of the tribal governments and 
the abolition of communal holdings, preparatory to separation of 
those tribes, aggreating nearly 20,000,000 acres. The work of this 
commission w^as performed under the supervision of the Secretary of 
the Interior. 

The act of June 28, 1898 (30 Stat., 495), greatly enlarged the 
powers of the Secretary of the Interior over the Indian Territory. 
Among other things, the Secretary was authorized to locate one 
Indian inspector m said Territo^3^ who should, under his direction, 
perform the duties in said Territory imposed by law upon the Secre- 
tary of the Interior. 

The Commisison to the Five Civilized Tribes was abolished by the 
act of April 21, 1904 (33 Stat. 204), to take effect July 1, 1905. The 
act of Congress approved March 3, 1905 (33 StaL, 1060), provided 
that the work theretofore under the jurisdiction of the Commission 
to the Five Civilized Tribes should be completed by the Secretary of 
the Interior, and conferred all the powers granted to said commission 
upon the Secretary on and after July 1, 1905. Since that date the 
Secretary has had one representative in Oklahoma in lieu of the 
commission, who has been designated " Commissioner to the Five 
Civilized Tribes." 

Howard University, in Washington, was established by the act of 
March 2, 1867, " for the education of youth in the liberal arts and 
sciences," without regard to race or color. The institution was sup- 
ported in part by donations from benevolent societies and in part 
by appropriations from Congress, the latter being expended undei 
the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior. By the act of June 
4, 1897 (30 Stat., 39), it was provided that no part of the congres- 
sional appropriation should be paid until the university should ac- 
cord to the Secretary of the Interior, or his agents, the right to in- 
spect the university and control and supervise expenditures under 
the appropriations. And the act of Congress approved March 3, 
1891 (26 Stat., 973), requires the proper officers of the university to 
report annually to the Secretary of the Interior how appropriations 



8 

made by Congress for the maintenance of the university have been 
expended. , 

The act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat., 388), known as the reclamation 
act, directed that moneys received from the sale of public lands in 
Western States and Territories to be set aside and appropriated as a 
reclamation fund, be used for the construction and maintenance of 
irrigation works for reclaiming the arid and semiarid lands of said 
States and Territories. This work was not delegated to any partic- 
ular bureau or office by the act, but was placed directly under the 
Secretary of the Interior. In the exercise of the discretion conferred 
upon him by law, however (sec. 161 of the Eevised Statutes) , the Sec- 
retary at first placed said work under the Director of the Geological 
Survey, but later separated it from the survey, placing all work 
under an officer designated as director, and the new activity desig- 
nated as the Eeclamation Service. 

The act of Congress approved May 16, 1910 (36 Stat., 369), estab- 
lished in the department a Bureau of Mines. This bureau is charged 
with the duty, under the direction of the Secretary, of making 
" diligent investigation of the methods of mining, especially in rela- 
tion to the safety of miners and the appliances best adapted to pre- 
vent accidents," etc. 

By the act of Congress approved June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 743), so 
much of the act establishing the Bureau of Mines as transferred to 
the bureau supervision of the investigation of structural materials 
and equipment was repealed. And by the same act (36 Stat., 765) 
under the heading, " The Department of Commerce and Labor," 
subheading " Bureau of Standards," an appropriation of $50,000 
was made for continuing the work under the supervision of the 
Director of the Bureau of Standards. 

During the year 1909 it was reported that due to the overflow from 
the Colorado River a cut back was taking place at the upper end of 
the branch of the Hardy-Colorado, which connects Volcano Lake 
with the Gulf of California. This cut back finally reached the 
Colorado Eiver at a point just below the boundary line between 
Arizona and the Republic of Mexico, finally diverting practically 
the entire flow of the Colorado River through this new channel. 

On June 25, 1910, the President brought the subject to the atten- 
tion of Congress, which was then in session, and suggested that a 
joint resolution be passed putting at his disposal a sum sufficient to 
meet conditions. He also suggested " that the resolution authorize 
the expenditure of this money on either side of the international 
boundary, and that the President be authorized to secure the permis- 
sion of the Republic of Mexico." 

By joint resolution approved June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 883), 
$1,000,000, or so much thereof as might be necessary, was placed at 
the disposal of the President for the purpose of protecting the land 
and property in said valley and elsewhere along the Colorado River 
within the United States; and the President was authorized to ex- 
pend such portion of the amount within the Republic of Mexico as 
he might deem proper under such agreement for the purpose as he 
might make with the Republic of Mexico. 

Under the act of Congress approved June 8, 1906 (34 Stat., 225), 
the President is authorized " in his discretion to declare by public 
proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, 



and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated 

upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United 

Mates to be national monuments," and by the same act the heads 

1 -i ,r^io"s. departments who have supervision over lands on 

winch the various antiquities are located are authorized to o-rant 

pennits for examination of ruins, excavation of archa^ologicarsites, 

and the gathering of objects of antiquity, to reputable museums. 

. universities, coleges, or other recognized scientific or educational in- 

- stitutions, or their authorized agents. 

Various other duties of a miscellaneous character have from time to 
time been imposed upon the Secretary of the Interior. Thus by section 
1818 of the Revised Statutes he is required to prevent the improper 
appropriation or occupation of any of the public streets, avenues 
squares, or reservations in the city of Washington. Bv the act of 
March 3, 1875 (18 Stat 395) , the Secretary of the Interir, together 
with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster General, was 
required to approve plans and estimates for public buildings through- 

Stat., 699), section 3734 of the Revised Statutes was so amended as 
to require that the " sketch plans and estimates" for new public 
buildings sha 1 be approved by the Secretary of the Treasury and 
the head of each executive department who will have officials located 
m such building." By the act of July 1, 1879, the Secretary was 
authorized to execute conveyances of lots in the low grounds in the 
city of Washington to persons found to be entitled thereto, and by 
he act of May 17, 1862 (12 Stat., 389), he was required to 'approve 
tlie form of rai adopted for its hne of road by the Washington & 
Georgetown Railroad Co. (now merged into the Capital Traction Co ) 
it will be seen from the foregoing outline history that the Interior 
Department bears the same relation to the Government generally that 
a residuary legatee bears to the estate of the deceased. In other 
words It has been the custom for Congress to impose upon the Secre- 
tary of the Interior any newly created duties which could not be 
d^^artment "^ '''' ''''''^^'''^''^^^ P^^^^^ ^^^^r the head of any other 

Various duties and powers have been from time to time taken from 
the Secretary of the Interior, as follows • 

The result of the Civil War rendered obsolete the provisions of law 
relative to the slave trade. ^^ ia,\y 

By the act of June 22, 1870 (16 Stat., 162), establishing the 
Department of Justice jurisdiction over the accounts and expense? 
of district attorneys United States marshals, and other court office^ 
was transferred to that department. ^^uil omcers 

. ^y t^^^ct «f March 2, 1867 (14 Stat., 466), the office of Commis- 
sioner of Public Buildings was abolished and the duties thereof were 
devolved upon the Chief Engineer of the Army ^nereot were 

The act of June 13, 1888 (25 Stat., 182), transferred the Bureau of 
Labor from the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior and 
Seta\ttnrSVaU"''^^^^^^^ establishment, under the name of 
By the act of February 14, 1903 (32 Stat., 825), creating the De- 
partment of Commerce and Labor, the Census Office was tr?nsfermi 



80380°— 13 2 



10 

from the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior to that of the 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor. 

The act of March 3, 1903 (32 Stat., 1119), abolished the office of 
Commissioner of Railroads and provided that the records and files 
of said office should be transferred to the Secretary of the Interior. 

By the act of February 1, 1905 (33 Stat., 628), upon the recom- 
mendation of the Secretary of the Interior and of the Public Lands 
Cormnission, the execution of all laws affecting public lands in forest 
reserves, excepting such laws as affect the surveying, prospecting, 
locating, appropriating, entering, relinquishing, reconveying, certi- 
fying, or patenting of any such lands, was transferred to the Secre- 
tary of Agriculture. 

By Executive order of July 15, 1909, based on the act of Congress 
approved that date, Porto Rico was transferred to the Bureau of 
Insular Affairs of the War Department. 

, BUILDINGS. 

/ By the act approved July 4, 1836 (5 Stat., 115), the President was 
[directed to select an appropriate site for and cause to be erected 
/thereon a fireproof building suitable for tlie accommodation of the 
I Patent Office and provide necessary cases and furniture therefor, and 
ithe sum of $108,000 was appropriated for that purpose from the 
Patent Fund in the Treasury. Accordingly the plot of ground on 
which the Patent Office is now located was selected as a suitable site, 
plans and specifications for the building were approved, and, under 
the supervision of the Secretary of State, one wing (the south) of the 
present building was constructed. 

Additional appropriations for the continuance of the construction 
of the Patent Office Building were made as follows: By the act of 
March 3, 1837 (5 Stat., 172), of $100,000; act of March 3, 1838 (5 
Stat., 346), $50,000; act of July 7, 1838 (5 Stat., 266), $50,000;. act 
of May '8, 1840 (5 Stat., 378), $100,000; act of May 3, 1841 (5 Stat., 
429), $7,550. 

An appropriation of $2,000 for fencing around the Patent Office 
Building, etc., was made by the act of May 18, 1842 (5 Stat., 479). 

An additional appropriation of $50,000 for the erection, under the 
supervision of the Secretary of State, of the wing (east) of the 
Patent Office Building in accordance with the original plan and to 
be paid from the Patent Fund was made by the act of March 3, 1849 
(9 Stat., 364). 

At the time of the organization of the Interior Department under 
the act of March 3, 1849 (9 Stat., 395), the Patent Office occupied 
and had used sinc6 1840 the wing constructed for it under the acts 
above mentioned. iThe. department from its organization up to the 
year 1853, occupied rooms in a building rented by the Treasury De- 
partment. These quarters appear to have been unsuitable and in- 
adequate for its accommodation, and the Secretary of the Interior in 
his annual report for 1851, (p. 34, H. R. Ex. Doc. No. 1, 31st Cong., 
2d sess.) formally announced to the President and Congress his in- 
tention as soon as the wings of the Patent Office Building should be 
completed to transfer to it the department proper and the different 
offices thereto attached. The proposed use of the building, at least 
so far as the department itself was concerned, was sanctioned by 



11 

Congress in the act of August 31, 1852 (10 Stat., 98), section 5, which 
is as follows : 

And be it further enacted that the appropriation "for the compensation of 
the superintendent and four watchmen in the building occupied by the Secre- 
tary of the Interior " of $1,700 and of $1,550 by the acts " making appropria- 
tions for the civil and diplomatic expenses of the Government for the years 
ending June 30, 1851 and 1852," approved September 30, 1850, and March 3, 
1851, be, and the same are hereby, made applicable to the " compensation of the 
superintendent and four watchmen for that portion of the Patent Office Build- 
ing which shall be occupied by the Secretary of the Interior, for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1853." 

Under the head " Contingent expenses of the Department of the 
Interior," the following item was submitted in the annual estimates 
of the department : " Contingent expenses of the east wing of the 
Patent Office Building, to wit : For labor, fuel, lights, and incidental 
expenses, $2,200." 

In the appropriation bill, as reported to the House of Representa- 
tives, provision was made in the form submitted with the following 
proviso : " Provided that neither the office of the Secretary of the 
Interior nor any bureau thereof other than the Patent Office shall be 
located in the Patent Office Building until directed by law " (see pp. 
663, 664, Congressional Globe, vol. 102, 32d Cong., 2d sess., for dis- 
cussion on the subject) . This proviso was opposed in the House upon 
the ground that the building had been erected chiefly with funds of 
the Government, that the department was not properly provided for, 
and that the Government had the right to use it for the purposes 
proposed. Among other things, however, it was stated in support of 
the proviso that if the department moved into the Patent Office 
Building with its J^- -clerks there would be no room left for the 
Patent Office. The Senate, however, apparently having knowledge of 
all the facts and wants of the department, struck out this proviso (see 
p. 1136, Congressional Globe, vol. 102, 32d Cong., 2d sess.), and the 
House ultimately receded fron,i its amendment and the appropriation 
passed in the following form : " Contingent expenses of the east wing 
Patent Office Building, for labor, fuel, lights, and incidental ex- 
penses, $2,200." 

It thus appears that Congress not only refused to exclude the De- 
partment of the Interior from the Patent Office Building, but twice 
made appropriations of money which could only be used if the de- 
partment should occupy a portion of that building. 

By the act of August ,31, 1852 (10 Stat., 93), appropriations were 
made of $103,000 for the completion of the east wing of the Patent 
Office Building ; $3,200 for finishing the basement of the center of the 
Patent Office Building to make it conform to the designs of the wings ; 
and $150,000 for the erection of the west wing of the Patent Office 
Building. In neither instance was it specified that this money should 
be taken from the patent fund. 

By the act approved August 18, 1856 (11 Stat., 89), an appropria- 
tion of $200,000 was made toward the erection of the north front of 
the Patent Office Building for the accommodation of the Department 
of the Interior. 

In the act approved March 3, 1857 (11 Stat., 224), an appropriation 
of $50,000 was made for preparing, etc., the west wing of the Patent 
■Office for the reception of models and $200,000 for continuing the 



12 

erection of the north front of the Patent Office Building for the ac- 
commodation of the Department of the Interior. 

In the act approved March 3, 1859 (11 Stat., 428), an appropriation 
of $50,000 was made for the completion of the erection, etc., of the 
north front of the Patent Office Building. 

In the act approved June 12, 1858 (11 Stat., 322), an appropriation 
of $50,000 was made for completing the west wing of the Patent 
Office Building. 

In the annual report of the Secretary of the Interior to the Presi- 
dent, dated December 2, 1850, in discussing among, other things the 
necessity for providing adequate quarters for the Interior Depart- 
ment's bureaus, the following statement is made : 

The office of the Department of the Interior is now kept ir^, a rented hunfl- . 

ing, which is ill adapted to such purposes and too contiguous to private dwell- 
ings, which constantly expose it to casualties. The Pension Office is also In 
rented apartments in the fourth story of the Winder Building. 

The Indian Office is in the War Department, and occupies rooms which the 
head of that department has assured me are indispensably necessary for the 
accommodation of his branch of the public service. 

The Land Office is in the upper story of the Treasury Building, where it is 
kept to the great annoyance of the Secretary of the Treasury, who is obliged 
to rent rooms in private buildings for the use of some of his bureaux. It is 
believed that the rent now paid for the use of inconvenient and unsafe buildings 
is nearly equal to the interest on the cost of constructing a new one in all 
respects suitable for the purposes of the department. When to this fact are 
added the loss of time in communicating with the heads of the bureaux, who 
are scattered through five or six buildings, some of which are more than a 
quarter of a mile distant from the office of the head of the department, and 
the increase of expense occasioned by the employment of additional doorkeepers, 
messengers, watchmen, and laborers, it will be found that true economy will be 
promoted by the erection of a suitable building for this department. 

The eastern wing of the Patent Office, including the basement, contains thirty 
rooms besides the large saloon, 268 feet long and 63 wide, which is designed 
for the display of models. 

The Patent Office does not now, and probably will not for years to come, need 
one-fourth of these rooms. 

I propose, therefore, as soon as that wing is ready for use, to transfer to it 
the officers attached to the department proper, and also those belonging to the 
Indian Bureau. 

When the west wing shall have been completed it should be appropriated, 
with the exception of the upper saloon, to the Land and Pension Offices. 

The War and Treasury Departments would thereby be relieved from the 
inconveniences to which they are now subjected, and all the bureaux connected 
with the Department of the Interior would be brought together under one roof. 
If in the progress of time the Patent Office should need more room, it could 
be supplied either by the construction of a building on the north side of the 
square, so as to complete the quadrangle according to the original design, or 
by withdrawing one or more of the bureaux to some other building. Many 
years, however, will probably elapse before such a withdrawal will become 
necessary; the demand for increase of room will be for the exhibition of 
models and not for the accommodation of clerks ; and as the plan which I 
suggest contemplates the appropriation of two halls of the entire size of the 
wings for that purpose, it is hardly probable that they will be filled for twenty, 
years to come. 

Objection has been made to the occupation of any part of the Patent Office 
for purposes other than those for which it was originally designed. It is said 
that it was paid for out of the patent fund and that it therefore belongs to the 
inventors. This objection rests upon a mistake both as to the facts of the 
case and the inference which is drawn from them. But as it may possibly 
mislead some who are not conversant with the subject it is proper to notice it. 

It is not true that the cost of the Patent Office Building has been paid out 
of the patent fund. On the contrary, it will be found, in a careful examination 
of the accounts, that but little more than one-eighth part of the cost of the 
principal building and two wings has been derived from the patent fund. 



13 

But if the facts were as represented they by no means justify tlie inference 
derived from them. 

In the annual report of the Secretary of the Interior to the Presi- 
dent dated December 5, 1853, the Secretary of the Interior, in fur- 
ther discussing the needs of the department for proper accommoda- 
tions for the bureaus thereof, states that — 

Much inconvenience and embarrassment are experienced by this department, 
as well as most of the bureaus under its charge, in consequence of their dis- 
tance from it. That freedom of intercourse which is essentially necessary to 
the proper discharge of the dutes incumbent on each can not exist. Questions 
of moment are constantly arising that might be considered and decided promptly 
and without consuming much time if the head of the department and the chief 
of the bureau having charge of the matter could readily and conveniently con- 
sult together. This, however, is not the most serious objection to the present 
position of these bureaus. The Indian Office is in the War Department and 
occupies rooms which are not fireproof. They are also needed and haVe been 
demanded by that department and should be surrendered. 

The General Land Office remains in the Treasury Building, notwithstanding 
the Secretary of the Treasury requires the rooms and has made a pressing 
application for them. 

These rooms are too small and too limited in number. The commissioner 
has been compelled in several instances to crowd eight or nine clerks, besides 
the desks, paper cases, and ordinary furniture, into a single room where more 
than two clerks can not conveniently be accommodated. In consequence of 
this and the want of proper ventilation the health of the clerks is impaired and 
their ability to labor much diminished. The files and papers have increased 
so rapidly that, for want of space, many cases of valuable papers are placed 
In the passages, where there is not that security from fire which is requisite. 

The Pension Office is in a better situation, but it occupies inconvenient and 
uncomfortable quarters belonging to the War Department. 

The Indian and Land Bureaus must be removed, and the only question ap- 
pears to be whether the west wing of the Patent Office Building shall be fitted 
up for the temporary accommodation of these bureaus or they be placed in 
rented buildings, not fireproof, thus exposing to imminent i)eril papers of 
immense value to the General Government, the States, and private individuals. 

This building may be so finished within a year ; and, until a suitable structure 
can be erected for this department, it will not be required by the Patent Office. 
Some opposition has been made, heretofore, to a somewhat similar proposition ; 
but this, it is presumed, was based on the erroneous supposition that the cost 
of the entire structure had been defrayed out of the patent fund. 

The amount thus far expended and appropriated is $1,367,750, of which 
$1,048,750 has been paid out of the Treasury, and only $319,000 out of the patent 
fund. Such being the fact, there is no reason why a portion of it should not 
be temporarily used, as proposed, until needed by the Patent Office. If this 
should even somewhat incommode that office, it would be of small moment in 
comparison with the evils that might result from withholding the use of It 
from the bureaus. Skillful artisans are of opinion that the necessary improve- 
ments can be easily made without interfering with or injuring the original de- 
sign. Unless, therefore. Congress by express enactment otherwise determines, I 
intend to direct the completion of the west wing so a,s to accommodate these 
bureaus and secure the public archives. 

Within a few years the Patent Office will need the main building and the 
two wings for its exclusive use. In the meantime a structure should be ejected 
for this department; and, as it consumes much time to complete such a build- 
ing, sound policy should induce its immediate commencement. One sufficiently 
large and commodious, and entirely separated from the other departments, can 
be constructed in a plain, substantial marfner for $250,000; and in the most 
approved style, with all the modern improvements, for less than half a million. 
Surely, at this time, there can be no more proper or profitable application of 
the public money. The considerations urging it are strong and apparent, and 
It seems to me can not fail to convince everyone who reflects upon the subject 
of its absolute necessity. 

In the winter of 1853, the east wing of the Patent OflSce Building 
having been completed and the Secretary of the Interior learning 



14 

that the Patent Office proposed to occupy it, by letter dated Febru- 
ary T, 1853, called the attention of the Commissioner of Patents to 
section 5 of the act of Congress approved August 31, 1852, stating 
that he reserved for the Interior Department the whole of the second, 
or principal, floor of the east wing of that building. 

In the annual report of the Commissioner of Public Buildings, 
dated October 11, 1855, he states, among other things: 

The progress of tlie west wing of the Patent Office Building has been satis- 
factory. * * * One story has been finished and is occupied by a portion 
of the clerical force of the General Land Oflice. It is expected that the re- 
mainder of the interior of the building will be ready for occupancy during the 
approaching winter, and that the portico and whole exterior of the building 
will be completed during the next season. An appropriation of $150,000. how- 
ever, will be required to finish the portico and exterior, to pay the reservations 
due, put up iron railings, lay down flagging, etc. 

By letter dated October 25, 1855, the Secretary directed the Com- 
missioner of Patents to set aside a portion of the Patent Office Build- 
ing for the use of the Office of Indian Affairs. 

In the annual report of the Secretary of the Interior, dated Decem- 
ber 1, 1859, it is stated among other things : 

The north front of the Patent Office Building is nearly completed, and the 
appropriations already made for it will suffice for that purpose, and also for 
the improvement of the grounds around it. When finished, the entire building 
will, as is believed, be the finest specimen of architecture of its order in this 
or any other country, and for the present will afford convenient accommoda- 
tions for the entire department as now organized. 

The south, or F Street, front of the Patent Office Building was 
completed in 1840, and the Patent Office at once took possession 
thereof. The east, or Seventh Street, wing was completed in 1852, 
and was taken possession of by the Secretary of the Interior. 

Plans for the entire Patent Office Building as it now stands were 
prepared in the year 1852, and the erection of the west, or Ninth 
Street, wing was commenced. This wing was completed and occupied 
in 1856, and in the, same year work was begun on the north, or G 
Street, wing, the latter being completed in 1867. 

The Pension Office Building, located on a portion of Judiciary 
Square, was constructed under plans approved by the Secretaries of 
War and Interior, the building being partially occupied by the Pen- 
sion Office in May of 1885, and provision was made in the act of 
July 7, 1884 (23 Stat., 187), for a superintendent of such building. 
Until July, 1909, when the Indian Office was removed thereto, the 
building was exclusively occupied by the Pension Office. 

The old Post Office Department Building, which now houses the 
General Land Office and the Bureau of Education, was by the act 
of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat., 28), specifically transferred from the super- 
vision of the Post Office Department and placed under the control of 
the Secretary of the Interior. 

By the act of March 4. 1911 (36 Stat., 1213), the chief clerk of the 
department is designated as superintendent of buildings. At present 
the Civil Service Commission, the Geological Survey, the Bureau of 
Mines, and the Reclamation Service are in rented buildings. 



15 

PRESENT ACTIVITIES OF DEPARTMENT. 

At the present time the Interior Department embraces supervision 
over the following subjects and activities: 

General Land Office.— The Commissioner of the General Land 
Office is charged with the survey, management, and sale of the 
public domain, issuing patents therefor, etc. 

Ofice of Indian Affairs. — The Commissioner of Indian Affairs has 
charge of the Indian tribes of the United States, exclusive of Alaska. 
He looks after their lands, moneys, schools, and general welfare, and 
purchases the necessary supplies, etc. 

Peiision Office. — The Commissioner of Pensions supervises the 
examination and adjudication of all claims arising under the laws 
passed by Congress granting pensions on account of service in the 
Army and Navy, and those granting bounty-land warrants for service 
in wars prior to March 3, 1855, 

Patent Office. — The Commissioner of Patents is charged with the 
administration of the patent laws and supervises all matters relating 
to letters patent for inventions and trade-marks, prints, and labels. 

Geological Survey. — The Geological Survey makes topographic 
and geologic surveys, collects statistics of mineral resources, conducts 
investigations relating to surface and underground waters, classifica- 
tion of public lands, etc. 

Bureau of Education. — The Bureau of Education collects and pub- 
lishes statistics on education, issues bulletins on educational topics, 
has charge of the schools for the education of native children in 
Alaska, including the reindeer service for Alaska, and the adminis- 
tration of the endowment fund for the support of colleges for the 
benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts, etc. 

Reclamation Service. — The Reclamation Service is charged with 
the construction of the irrigation works in arid States, authorized by 
the act of June 17, 1902. 

Five Civilized Tribes. — The duty devolves directly on the Secre- 
tary of closing out the affairs of the Five Civilized Tribes, such as the 
selling of surplus land, timber on certain lands classified as " timber 
lands," town lots, courthouses, jails, schools, and other buildings be- 
longing to the different tribes; the issuance of patents to allottees, 
purchasers of unallotted lands, and town-lot patents; approval of 
mineral leases covering allotted lands on which the restrictions on 
alienation have not been removed, etc. 

Bv.reau of Mines. — This bureau is charged with the duty, under 
the direction of the Secretary, of making investigation of the methods 
of mining, especially with relation to the safety of miners, appliances 
best adapted to prevent accidents, possible improvement of condi- 
tions under which mining operations are carried on, treatment of 
ores and other mineral substances, the use of explosives and elec- 
tricity, and the prevention of accidents. It is asserted that " the 
newly created Bureau of Mines and the Bureau of Standards in the 
Department of Commerce and Labor duplicate many investigations." 
This is not a fact. The Bureau of Mines is authorized to investigate 
the treatment of ores and minerals with a view to increasing efficiency 
in their use. The Bureau of Standards tests the manufactured com- 
mercial products from such minerals, oresj etc. 



16 

The Territories.— Since the transfer under Executive order of July 
15, 1909, of the supervision of affairs in Porto Rico to the Bureau 
of Insular Affairs of the War Department, the Territories of New 
Mexico and Arizona have been admitted as States, and there now re- 
mains under this department the supervision of but two Territories, 
Alaska and Hawaii, and the mine inspector for Alaska. 

The national parks. — Supervision has been vested in the Secretary 
of the Interior of the tracts of land reserved by Congress from 
time to time as pleasure grounds for all the people. The location, 
acreage, and special characteristics of these parks as well as the Casa 
Grande Ruin are indicated in the following tables: 

Location and area of national parks. 



Name. 



Yellowstone . 



Yosemite 

Sequoia 

General Grant. 
Mount Rainier . 

Crater Lake 

Wind Cave 

Piatt 

Mesa Verde. 



Location. 



5-mile strip for pro- 
tection of ruins. 
Hot Springs Reserva- 
tion. 

Glacier 

SullysHill 

Casa Grande Ruin 



Wyoming, Montana, 
and Idaho. 

California 

do 

do 

Washington 

Oregon 

South Dakota 

Oklahoma 



Colorado . 
.do... 



Montana 

North Dakota. 
Arizona 



When 
established. 



Mar. 1,1872 

Oct. 1,1890 
Sept. 25, 1890 
Oct. 1,1890 
Mar. 2, 1899 
May 22,1902 
Jan. 9,1903 
(July 1,1902 
{A-pT. 21,1904 

June 29,1906 
do 



Arkansas June 16,1880 



May 11,1910 
Apr. 27,1904 
Mar. 2, 1889 



Area 
(acres). 



2,142,720 

719,622 
161,597 
2,536 
207,360 
159,360 
10,522 



42,376 
175,360 

911.63 

981, 681 
780 
480 



Private 
lands 
(acres). 



None. 

19, 827 

3,716.96 

160 

18.2 

2,458.11 

160 

None. 



None. 

16, 668. 11 
None. 
None. 



Visitors, 
1912. 



22,970 

10,884 
2,923 
2,240 
8,946 
5,235 
3,199 

31,000 
230 



135,000 

6,257 

About 200 

450 



The special characteristics of these parks are as follows : 

Yellowstone: Wonderful scenery, geysers, boiling springs, mud 
volcanoes and springs, mountains, grand waterfalls, brilliant-hued 
<3anyons, great lake 8,000 feet above the level of the sea, wild animals. 

Yosemite: Mountain scenery, magnificent waterfalls, the Hetch 
Hetchy and Yosemite Valley, ice-sculptured canyons, glacier lakes, 
forests. 

Sequoia and General Grant: The home of the "Big Tree" (Se- 
quoia gigantea), growing to a height of 300 feet with a diameter 
of 30 feet, the bark being 2 feet thick ; rugged and picturesque scen- 
ery, beautiful cascades and falls, and wonderful caves. 

Mount Rainier : Glaciers and wild mountain scenery. 

Crater Lake: Rugged mountain scenery, beautiful lake within 
the crater of an extinct volcano, etc. 

Wind Cave : Well known for a cavern having many miles of gal- 
leries and numerous chambers of considerable size containing many 
peculiar formations. 

Piatt : Noted for its bromide and other springs, the waters of which 
have medicinal qualities; park well wooded, scenery picturesque. 

Mesa Verde: Set aside to preserve the prehistoric ruins of an an- 
cient people; rugged scenery. 

Hot Springs Reservation : Famous for its thermal springs, having 
wonderful medicinal qualities. 



17 

Glacier: Famed for its beautiful lakes derived from glaciers, lofty 
mountains c ad ^vith forests, magnificent glacial formations, number- 
less waterfa s. Game and fish abound, but birds are not numerous, 
^uliys Hill: Small rugged hills. Practically a local park. 
Casa Grande Eum: These ruins are one of the most noteworthy 
relics of a prehistoric age and people within the limits of the United 
fetates. The ruins were discovered in 1694. 

_In all the foregoing national parks, excepting Crater Lake and 
Mesa Verde, the revenues derived from hotel, transportation, and 
other privileges for the accommodation of tourists, etc., are devoted 
entirely to the management, protection, and improvement of the re- 
spective reservations. The money is spent m the State in which the 
park IS located, and, aside from the general effects of the location of 
the park m the particular State, the people thereof profit by the 
expenditure of the money therein for materials, supplies, labor, etc. 
In many of these parks, particularly in California, Washington 
Oregon, and Montana, there are numerous streams furnishing power 
for the generation of electricity. With the view to utilizino- this 
power and giving the benefit thereof to the public, as well as to 
securing revenue to he applied to the improvement of the reserva- 
tions, permits for the use thereof have been granted. It is the policy 
of the department to so utilize the revenues from these parks as that 
instead of their being a charge against the Government, as in the 
past, they will m the future be practically self-sustaining. 

American antiquities.— Un^ev the act of Congress approved June 
8, 1906, there has been reserved from entry national monuments or 
landmarks, including cliff dwellings, petrified forests, and oth^r 
natural wonders, m the States of Montana, Wyoming, California 
Utah, South Dakota, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona New 
Mexico, and the Territory of Alaska. ' 

The following is a list of the national monuments under the In- 
terior Department set aside by the President under the above-men- 
tioned act: 



National monuments under Interior Department. 



Name. 



Devils To%ver 

Montezuma Castle 

EI Morro 

Chaco Canyon 

Muir Woods 2 

Pinnacles 

Tmnacacori 

Mukuntuweap 

Shoshone Cavern 

Natural Bridges '•> 

Gran Quivira! 

Sitka 

Rainbow Bridse ■> 

Lewis and Clark Caveri 

Colorado 

Petrified Forest 

Navajo ■* 



State. 



Wyoming 

Arizona 

New Mexico . 

do 

California 

do 

Arizona 

Utah 

Wvomine; 

Utah...: 

New Mexico. 

Alaska 

Utah 

Montana 

Colorado 

Arizona 

....do 



Date. 



Sept. 24, 1906 
Dec. 8, 1900 

do 

Mar. 11,1907 
Jan. 9, 1908 
Jan. 16, 1908 
Sept. 15,1908 
July .31,1909 
Sept. 21,1909 
Sept. 25,1909 
Nov. 1,1909 
Mar. 23,1910 
May 30,1910 
May 16,1911 
May 24,1911 
July 31,1911 
Mar. 14,1912 



Area. 



A cres. 

1,152 

160 

160 

1 20, 629 

295 

2,080 

10 

» 15,840 

210 

1 2, 740 

»160 

»57 

160 

160 

13, 883 

25, 625 

4 360 



1 Estimated area. 

2 Donated to the United States. 

3 Within an Indian reservation. 

* Based on 15 known ruins, with a reserved area of 40 acres surrounding each ruin. Exterior limits of tra/>t 
specified m proclamation contain 918,310 acres. 
' Originally set aside by proclamation of April 16, 1908, and contained only 120 acres. 



18 

The following regulations for the protection of national monu- 
ments were promulgated on November 19, 1910: 

1. Fires are absolutely prohibited. 

2. No firearms are allowed. 

3. No fishing permitted. 

4. Flowers, ferns, or shrubs must not be picked, nor may any damage be 
done to the trees. 

5. Vehicles and horses may be left only at the places designated for this 
purpose. 

6. Lunches may be eaten only at the spots marked out for such use, and all 
refuse and litter must be placed in the receptacles provided. 

7. Pollution of the water in any manner is prohibited ; it must be kept clean 
enough for drinking purposes. 

8. No drinking saloon or barroom will be permitted. 

9. Persons rendering themselves obnoxious by disorderly conduct or bad 
behavior, or who may violate any of the foregoing rules, will be summarily 
removed. 

The supervision of these various monuments has, in the absence of 
any specific appropriation for their protection and improvement, 
necessarily been intrusted to the field officers of the department hav- 
ing charge of the territory in which the several monuments are 
located. This supervision in many instances is limited, and con- 
siderable difficulty has been experienced in protecting the monuments 
from vandalism, unauthorized exploration, and spoliation. 

Bird reserves. — The President, under his general supervisory au- 
thority over public lands, has established from time to time reserva- 
tions for the protection of native wild birds. The act of June 25, 
1910 (36 Stat., 847), authorizes the President in his discretion to 
temporarily withdraw from settlement, location, sale, etc., other 
lands of the United States, including the District of Alaska, and 
reserve the same for water-power sites, irrigation, classification of 
lands, or other purposes to be specified in the orders of withdrawal, 
and such withdrawals or reservations shall remain in force until 
revoked by him or by an act of Congress. The act of June 28, 1909 
(34 Stat., 536), provides for the punishment of any person wdio 
trespasses on any of the reservations so established, and this act was 
substantially reenacted in section 84 of the act of March 4, 1909 (35 
Stat., 1104), providing a new penal code. Between March 14, 1903, 
and December 31, 1912, there have been set aside by the President 
56 bird reserves. These reservations are administered under the 
direction of the Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture. 

Eleemosynary institutions in the District of Golumhia. — Super- 
vision over the following institutions: 

The Government Hospital for the Insane, the Freedmen's tlospital, 
the Howard University, and to a limited extent over the Columbia 
Institution for the Deaf. 

The Government Hospital for the Insane, Washington, D. C, is 
the only Federal hospital for the insane maintained by the Govern- 
ment, with the exception of a small one devoted entirely to the care 
of the Indians and located in South Dakota. It provides for the care 
of the insane of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Public Health 
Service, and the Revenue Marine; also for insane residents of the 
District of Columbia, inmates of the Homes for Disabled Volunteer 
Soldiers in various parts of the United States and the Soldiers' 
Home, Washington, D. C, and United States prisoners before and 
after conviction, and convicts. In 1904 the hospital was extended by 



19 

the construction of 15 new buildings, representing an outlay of 
$1,500,000, and it now cares for approximately 2,500 patients. 

District of Columbia. — Supervision over the office of the Superin- 
tendent of the United States Capitol Building and Grounds; the 
handling of matters pertaining to the condemnation of lands em- 
braced within Meridian Hill, in the city of Washington, for park 
purposes, under acts of Congress of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 700), 
and March 4, 1911 (36 Stat., 1310) ; and rental under the provisions 
of the general deficiency act of AugTist 26, 1912, of the buildings on 
lands acquired for enlargement of the Capitol Grounds. Also the 
protection from improper appropriation or occupation of the public 
streets, avenues, squares, and reservations in the city of Washington, 
the issuing of deeds to certain lots in that city, and various other 
duties in connection w^ith other activities in the District of Columbia 
and elsewhere. 

A-pfTo-priations. — The aggregate appropriations for the fiscal year 
ending June 30^ 1913, to be expended under the Interior Department, 
as compared with the aggregate appropriations for other depart- 
ments, are shown by the following table : 

Agriculture $22, 894, 590. 25 

Commerce and Labor 14, 875,475. 61 

Justice 9, 845. 268. 79 

Navy 126, 095, 47.5. 21 

Post Office 2, 776, 222. 51 

State 4, 188, 430. 39 

Treasury (including sinking fund, $60,650,000) 142,020,635.43 

War 190, 297, 967. 31 

Interior 202, 250, 598. 36 

From the foregoing it appears that the appropriations for the 
Interior Department are greater than those for any other depart- 
ment under the Government. With regard to the Post Office Depart- 
ment, however, it should be stated that while the specific appropria- 
tion from general funds in the Treasury amounts to only $2,776,- 
222.51, there is approximately $269,704,599 representing revenues 
from the postal service, which, under authority of law, are deposited 
in a separate fund in the Treasury, and which the Postmaster General 
is authorized to expend. 

Conclusion. — The volume of work considered in the Department 
is exceedingly great, but it is dispatched expeditiously and with but 
little friction. The work pertaining to the various l3ureaus is con- 
sidered in such bureaus, the heads of which consult with the Secretary 
from time to time in relation to questions of general policy and im- 
portant special matters. 

A large amount of work, however, relating to the bureaus, and 
particularly that relating to the national parks and reservations, the 
Territories and eleemosynary institutions, as well as matters relating 
to the District of Columbia, is initiated and carried to a conclusion 
under his personal supervision in the various divisions of the Secre- 
tary's office. 

From the foregoing recital of the activities entrusted to this depart- 
ment it is evident that they cover a very wide range of subjects, the' 
output of the work of the department extending to many countries 
outside of the United States. Some idea of the territory covered by 
the work devolving upon the department may be gathered from the 
fact that, in the exercise of his supervisory powers, the Secretary of 



20 



the Interior maintains a school at the most northerly settlement on 
the Arctic Ocean, at Point Barrow, Alaska; he supervises the sale 
of all pubiic lands in the United States, including Florida on the 
extreme south; and also receives and considers matters coming from 
the Territory of Hawaii on the west. Diplomatic correspondence, 
growing out of the carrying into effect of the patent system and the 
enforcement of the pension laws, brings the department in touch 
with applicants for patents and pensions in nearly all foreign 
countries. 

The number of persons employed in the department on July 1, 
1912, was 14,719. This number does not include 4,601 examining 
surgeons and specialists for pensions who are not salaried employees 
but compensated by fees, nor does it include about 3,770 laborers in 
the Reclamation Service on June 30, 1912. 

W. B. Acker, 

Assistant Attorney. 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



August, 31, 1912. 



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WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1913 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




012 321987 9 O 



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HoUinger Corp. 
pH8.5 



